Online Extras

- Time was when Gonzaga was the middle seed lurking in the bracket, ready to ambush a top seed happily steaming toward a regional final.

Now the Zags find themselves as a bona fide No. 1, holding down the top spot in the top quarter of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's West Region bracket.

And poised for a possible upset one rung below?

Pittsburgh, perhaps.

There are a few reasons to like where the eighth-seeded Panthers fell into this year's tournament. Assuming they survive a dangerous 8-9 opening-round matchup against Wichita State, the Panthers would get the chance to play spoilers against Gonzaga.

And you sort of have to like their chances.

While Pitt was 3-6 against ranked teams this season, they showed a knack for playing up to the level of their competition.

They lost by only five to then-No. 5 Michigan in November, lost by three to Louisville -- the Midwest's top seed -- and split a pair of games down the stretch against Syracuse, beating the Orange 65-55 when they were ranked sixth in early February.

There's no guarantee the Panthers can dial up the effort they produced in those games, but if they do manage to get past Gonzaga, you've got to believe they can reach the regional final, likely against No. 2 seed Ohio State.

- Looking over the entire bracket, I like Louisville to win the Midwest, Ohio State out West, Georgetown in the South (surviving a showdown with Kansas in the region final) and Miami to win the East.

I like Louisville and Miami in the title game, with the Hurricanes pulling out a victory behind the stellar play of ACC tournament MVP Shane Larkin.

- Doug Marrone's first couple of months on the job figured to be rough. But not only did the Bills' new coach lose his best offensive lineman when Andy Levitre signed a lucrative deal with the Titans, he's been left to deal with the fallout of general manager Buddy Nix's leaked phone call about quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and Fitzpatrick's subsequent release.

Where this leaves the Bills is likely needing to decide whether to spend their first-round pick in next month's draft -- the eighth overall -- on a quarterback or an interior lineman.

There's a good chance both Alabama guard Chance Warmack and West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith could be available when the Bills pick.

If so, it's a tough decision between perhaps the top quarterback in a weak draft for quarterbacks and or a consensus can't-miss lineman.

The lineman would seem to be the smarter move, particularly if Nix and Marrone believe they can snag former Syracuse quarterback Ryan Nassib with their second pick, the 41st overall.